Dear Irritating Ignorant Coworker

The BBQ Pit
21

It sucks, but you have to keep documenting this stuff, putting her on performance improvement plans, putting formal warnings in her file, particularly with regard to the harrassment of the disabled worker. It is much easier to fire someone, particularly someone in a protected class, if they have a long history of deficient performance. What is crappy for an employer in a lawsuit is when someone’s firing is the only detrimental thing in that person’s file.

Gorgonzola’s idea on workplace bullying is also good.

Particularly if you are her supervisor, you should be the one to pull the trigger. If she doesn’t listen to you, and poisons the atmosphere, what do you really have to lose. It will be difficult, but I imagine you will have great support from the non-asshole staff and the environment will be much better when you rid yourself of the vampire.

22

Recent update:

I looked through our company’s policy binder to see if they have an anti-bullying statement. They don’t. They have everything else, though. My second though was that perhaps it’s inserted in the harassment or workplace conduct statement, but at the time I didn’t have time to look.

Another (somewhat petty) rant, but an IIC rant nevertheless:

Right now I’m on partial disability due to an arm injury I sustained when Jack the malamute charged a skunk and wrapped me around a fence post. According to our disability insurers, I cannot work one minute past when I’m scheduled to punch out; if I’m in the middle of something, I have to drop it, leaving it for whoever else is there to finish and/or clean.

I don’t like doing this. We have an unwritten department rule (insitituted by IIC, of course) that states if you make a mess, it’s YOUR responsibility to clean it up. Fair is fair, and I agree.

The other day IIC begged me to help her fill the refrigerated pastry case before I was to leave. This pastry case is her baby; frankly, besides slicing bread, it’s the only thing she can do reasonably well, as it doesn’t take cake decorating skills or in-depth pastry knowledge to slap together a couple of components, package them, price, them, and put them out. (I apologize if I sound haughty here, btw; I don’t mean to, but it’s the nature of the beast in the retail food biz). She freaks out if she can’t get to this case in what she claims her allotted time to do it (.i.e., most of the day). But hey, bagging the day’s bread products and such is the first order of business; if there’s only 2 or 3 people scheduled, it takes all morning and possibly early afternoon to complete it.

Anyway, I’d finished the cake orders and was cleaning my bench when she asked me if I could help her with a few items. I said OK. Our manager overheard us and reminded her I had to be out at such-and-such a time. If she wanted me to help her, that was fine, but she would have to clean my utensils and pastry bag in return. She said OK. She went to lunch. I did what she asked. I was about to clean my utensils when our manager told me to drop everything and punch out. So I did, leaving everything in the sink.

When I came in the next day, all hell broke loose. Our manager was off, so it was IIC, our assistant, and me. I hadn’t taken one step into the department when she rushed up to me hollering “I’M NOT GOING TO CLEAN YOUR MESS! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR? I’M NOT YOUR MAID!”, peppered with assorted explatives of what a lazy ass I am, etc., and who am I to leave that mess for her? I reminded her that our manager told me to leave it and that SHE agreed to clean everything. “OH NO I DIDN’T! WHY WOULD I DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?” Every time I tried to explain she kept cutting me off. At some point our assistant stepped in and told her quietly to shut up. Chaos insued because, of course, you would never DARE to tell IIC such because, after all, she’s the Queen :rolleyes:

Mind you, it wasn’t much – a bowl, a couple of spatulas, one pastry bag. That was it.

Sotto voce our assistant told me later that IIC had been ranting all day about it, never mind the continuous personal attacks she kept making on me. She kept trying to quiet her, but to no avail. I asked her why didn’t she just take IIC upstairs once again. She rolled her eyes and replied, “It doesn’t do any good. We already know that.”

sigh Like I said, it’s a petty rant. But if you add up all the petty rants I’m not even going to bother reiterating here, it doesn’t paint a very pretty picture.

What I can’t understand is why someone would continue this sort of behavior? WTF is she trying to prove? And, more important, why the hell should I care, other than I work with her in rather close quarters?

23

You could predict she’d go off like that, couldn’t you? Of course.

The next time you’re expecting one of her shitstorms, walk in with a video camera. As soon as she charges you, shrieking, turn it on and keep it pointed at her. Keep it running no matter what she says or does.

When the scene is over go to HR, play it for them, and ask them what they think an employment law attorney would have to say about hostile work environment.

24

Seriously, kiz, do you need this job badly enough to be abused like this? If you were talking about a personal relationship, I’d tell you that he was abusing you badly, and you needed to look after yourself and leave. Working with this toxic person is damaging you emotionally and psychologically. If you really need the job that badly, I guess you need to find a way to stick with it, but if you don’t, next time she crosses the line, pick up your purse and coat and leave. You don’t have to put up with abuse like this.

25

Kiz,

Sorry to keep harping, but this seems like a perfect instance to write her up for harrassment, unprofessional conduct and insubordination. It is a bit unclear to me, but it seems that it was the manager that told her that she would have to clean up (though it shouldn’t mattter if it were you), and then she didn’t. She also ignored the assistant manager’s direct instruction to drop it. And when you came in, she peppered you with profanity.

It seems like the assistant’s doesn’t believe that making it official will make a difference, but (in my view) what you have to do is insist on continuing to document offenses until upper management has enough that they have a bulletproof case to fire her.

It seems to me that this incident alone, properly documented, would be enough for adverse disciplinary action up to and including firing because it included insubordination toward the whole chain of command and profanities toward a co-worker. At the very least, you can request a formal investigation.

Based on your ranting here, you can obviously write a clear and effective memo to management and human resources about the situation. If corporate HR is in a different location (which I’m guessing it is) talk to them also about what the procedure is to report employee harrassment and improper conduct. Then send the memo through those channels.

Good luck.

26

Thanks, Billdo – and everyone else, too!

IIC isn’t working tomorrow, so I’m going to sit down with the assistant and see if we can hash out something.

As much as video would be damaging, I can’t see bringing my recorder in there without a lot of raised eyebrows. Everyone in my department would know why I’d be doing such, and knowing IIC’s nosiness, she’d be the first to demand why I’d brought it. I wish I had enough balls to reply, “To videotape your behavior!”, but I’m not that blatant. I’m more of a stealth gal :wink:

A recorder is a possibility. My husband has a skinny pocket recorder he can just whip out and speak into. Hmm…

I’m thinking aloud here:

My first thought is that there’s strength in numbers. As I said earlier, my words only carry so much weight with upper management. Any formal complaint I’d make about IIC would greatly be corroborated [did I spell that correctly?] by someone in a higher position who has already witnessed and can attest to her behavior. When I reported her previously, UM asked not only our assistant about it, but also our manager and everyone else in the department. IIC was written up and given a verbal warning. That was fine and dandy, but it didn’t solve anything.

I hate sounding like a wet dishrag, but who’s to say that the same thing won’t happen again? Again, as I said previously, they keep giving her rope to hang herself because, I believe, they don’t want to fire her outright.

And yep, featherlou it IS abusive. I can’t afford to just up and leave; I’m the primary breadwinner, as well as the health insurance holder, in my family. In no way would I make as much at another chain as I do now. I know this because I’ve worked at every major chain in the area except The Big One Which Is Union. If I was still single with no major responsibilities, I would’ve already left.

sigh Why can’t things be easy?

27

Years ago, I attended a management seminar which had a very interesting session on “Employee Discipline.” Two things from that session stuck with me:
[list][li]Don’t get creative.[/li][li]Go by the company’s employee discipline manual.[/li][/quote]

If your company doesn’t have the manual, I don’t know what you can do. But “getting creative” with the issue (such as secretly tape recording someone) may get both you and the company in legal hot water.

That being said, if I had to deal with such a co-worker as you describe, by this time, I would’ve informed my employer that I’m not putting up with that trash and “will be leaving post haste if ‘an appropriate change in the circumstances is not forthcoming.’” I’d let the employer figure out for themselves what the appropriate change is.

28

That’s really too bad; it sucks to feel like you’re stuck in a situation that you can’t change and can’t get out of.

My suggestion, then, is to make it your life’s work to have this cancer removed from your place of employment. Document every single little thing she does that is out of line. Turn in reports on her behaviour every opportunity. Have you seen “The Shawshank Redemption?” You know how Tim Robbins’ character sends a letter every week asking for funds, then doubles it once he gets some? Be like that. Do everything in your power within the rules of your company to drop the hammer on her. You have every right to call her on her behaviour when she steps on your toes, and I suggest you do just that. Your new favourite phrase will be, “That’s not acceptable to me.” She doesn’t get to stay and abuse everyone around her because of her situation; that is not fair ball anywhere.

And keep looking for other work. There are always other options.

29

At our workplace we have a grievance procedure which any employee can use. Part of the process is “requested resolution” where the grievance writer can request what “discipline” they want to see as a result of the process (within reason, obviously- you can’t request someone be drawn and quartered no matter how much you want to). One of my coworkers was just fired (they nicely gave the person the opportunity to resign, but they were leaving either way) for saying something untrue about another coworker. The coworker got their panties in a wad, insisted in the filed grievance that the person be fired, and it happened. In something like a day or two.

Is there a similar process you can take advantage of?

30

You do not have a hostile work envirenment claim under the law. Hostile work environment has to be based on a protected catagory (like sex or race), and she is what we in the biz call an “equal opportunity jerk.”

Your LD co-worker, though, has a case. She doesn’t know it though, so it is up to you to bring it to the company’s legal department.

I recommend a letter to the HR department, saying that you are concerned that LD co-worker is going to sue the company (or her family, if that would be more realistic). Give juicy examples of how LD’s disability figures in IIC’s rants.

Ask for ways you can more effectively prevent this “disability-based harassment.” Because you are just really concerned about the company, and being a better supervisor.

Then, lean back, and act suprised when she gets fired.

31

Y’all are looking at this from the wrong perspective; i.e. as the injured party. Let’s turn it around to IIC’s point of view. She obviously is either fucked in the head*, or wants to get fired.

If she’s fucked in the head, the best thing you can do for her is to document all of instances of inappropriate behavior and wackiness, and fire her. Maybe that will jumpstart her into looking for help.

If she wants to get fired-- through the misguided belief that she will then sue and win a big in a wrongful termination case; because she needs to be a martyr; because she’s a bitch who can’t work with others; because she can’t move on unless she is forced to move on; whatever— the best thing you can do for her is to document all of instances of inappropriate behavior and wackiness, and fire her.

It looks like the solution is clear for everybody—document every instance of her bad behavior and keep bringing it to upper management’s attention. Do as others have suggested and mention the liability from her creating a hostile work environment for the disabled employee.

It’s a true win-win situation!

Of course it’s never that simple. But if you can’t leave, you have to do whatever you can to improve your working environment. Good luck!

*my all encompassing term for mental illness; we don’t know what her specific illness may be Please don’t take offense, some of my best friends are fucked in the head, including me.

32

Update, update!

No, it’s not what you think. IIC’s still there. However, there have been new developments since the last time I posted:

  1. The LD girl’s been taken out of the department indefinitely for reasons which have nothing to do with IIC. She’s in enough hot water herself. I honestly don’t think she realizes how much trouble she’s in.

  2. IIC’s mom had a massive heart attack early last week with complications. She’s still in the hospital, but once she’s released, she has nowhere to go but to IIC’s. Ergo, IIC’s been asking me caretaking questions left and right, hanging onto my every word like I’m her freakin’ savior. I’m sorry about her mom, but I can’t help but think of every single time she sneered whenever I mentioned taking care of Kiz Mom…and now I’m GLOATING!

OK, not really. Well, maybe a tiny part of me. Hell, she’s now complaining that she’ll probably have to take more time off :smiley:

I also found out IIC was hauled up to the office yet again after I’d left one day last week. Nobody’s said what it was about, but IIC’s been uncharacteristically quiet since. Hmm.

I’ve been playing the “I need to speak with you” game with our HR person re the anti-bullying issue. No meeting set up yet. But she and the store manager know something’s up, judging from how they’ve suddenly become very solicitious of me :wink:

33

LD girl is in trouble?! For what?

34

I don’t know the whole story, but the upshot is that she tried to file a workers comp case for an injury that wasn’t sustained at work. She was caught when the WC people called to verify it.

What’s sadder is that she has no idea why what she did was wrong.

35

Is she at the mental level where she might have known about Worker’s comp, and gotten confused, or is this something someone would have to put her up to doing? If she had to be put up to it, is there any way to convince management of her mental innocence?

36

Cite?

37

Hard to say. Like I said, I don’t know the entire story.

Management’s always taken her “mental innocence” into account for almost everything, though.

38

http://www.myemploymentlawyer.com/mel/answer.php3?answer_id=1565

I don’t remember the name of the case offhand, but I’m pretty sure that even sexual advances have been found not to create a hostile environment when they have been made equally to men and women in the workplace.

39

Update your resume, and post it on the better cites, like Monster. :frowning:

I’m serious.

You’ll then get offers (we hope). You can then take said offer to your boss, and say, “hey I got this offer from a headhunter. I really like working here, but working with IIC is very stressful.” (Note that “posting your resume” is not technically “applying for a job”, it’s just letting headhunters know you are there. Then they contact you.)

Either they’ll let her go, or you’ll take the new job. Looks like a “win-win” to me.

40

Good luck re: getting an anti-bullying policy in place. They make life a lot easier for employer and employee alike. She’s pretty overt with her behaviour, too, which helps.